Proximity, security drive residents to apartments

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Driving outside the Taman Rasuna Apartment South Jakarta, Susan, 25, an employee of a foreign company on Jl. Sudirman in Central Jakarta, nods her head to the beat of a hip-hop song playing on her car's stereo.

"I just want to stop by to get some clothes for some clubbing tonight," she told The Jakarta Post before driving to a restaurant near her office, 15 minutes from her apartment.

After graduating from an overseas management school two years ago, Susan moved out of parents' place in a housing complex in Cibubur, East Jakarta, preferring to live nearer to her office.

She said her parents gave her the down-payment to buy her apartment while she pays the monthly installments.

"I have tried several times to drive from my parents' house, and I have to spend over two hours in traffic just to get to my office. They were very stressful journeys and I was already exhausted when I got to work," she said.

Living in an apartment, Susan, single and independent, can exercise each morning before going to work or swim in the apartment pool every evening, if she's not meeting her workmates or friends in a nearby cafe.

Susan is one of a growing number of well-paid young professionals who are choosing to live in apartments rather than at home with their parents.

There are estimated to be about 45,000 units of apartments and condominiums in the capital, with more expected in the next few years as property developers, such as Agung Podomoro, Artha Graha and Gapura Prima, continue to build across the city.

Most apartment developers are targeting young executives, couples and established families, some who may also own houses in the suburbs but who choose to stay in the city due to the nature of their work.

Ferry S. Supandji, vice president of PT Bakrie Swasakti Utama, the developer of Taman Rasuna Apartments, said many people now preferred to live in apartments over houses because they were closer to work, had more facilities and were cheaper to buy.

"With Rp 500 million, you can live in a prestigious neighborhood in the center of the city, while the same amount of money will only buy you a house in a suburban area or even one out of town," he told the Post.

Ferry said many families stayed in apartments during the week, and spent their weekends at houses in Cibubur, Bekasi, Bintaro, or Tangerang.

Apartments like Taman Rasuna, Ferry said, provided complete sports facilities, including swimming pools, tennis and basketball courts, gymnasiums, jogging tracks as well as playgrounds for children, mini markets and drugstores.

The 15-tower Taman Rasuna complex also prioritized the security and privacy of its tenants, he said.

"Each tenant has an access card. You can't just get inside a room as you have to face the security guards first. Unless the tenants give visitors their permission to come in, they can't enter the apartments," he said.

Not all of the people who bought apartments lived in them, however, he said.

"Many owners rent their apartment for between Rp 2.5 million and Rp 6 million a month. It is a good investment as they get around a 10 percent return," he said.